WASHINGTON - White House Press Secretary told reporters that an attack such as the hotel siege only strengthens the US’s resolve to support Afghanistan.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters at her daily press briefing that the United States has called on Pakistan to immediately arrest or expel Taliban leaders who are carrying out terror activities in Afghanistan and to prevent them from using Pakistani territory to support its operations.
"We call on Pakistan to immediately arrest or expel the Taliban's leaders and prevent the group from using Pakistani territory to support its operations," she said.
"In Afghanistan, where terrorists attacked a hotel in Kabul, such attacks on civilians only strengthen our resolve to support our Afghan partners."
This comes after the Taliban claimed responsibility for a major attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul on Saturday that killed at least 22 people including 11 foreigners.
"We commend the swift and effective response of the Afghan security forces. Afghan forces, with our support, will continue to relentlessly pursue the enemies of Afghanistan, who also seek to export terror around the world," Sanders said.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahid KhaqanAbbasi on Monday said his government will push ahead with plans to seize control of charities run by Hafiz Saeed, designated a terrorist by Washington, and warned the United States not to weaken Pakistan, according to a Reuters report.
Abbasi brushed off US President Donald Trump’s recent tweet accusing Pakistan of “lies and deception” in its commitment to fighting terrorism, as he raised the prospect of charging the United States to use Pakistan’s airspace to resupply NATO troops in Afghanistan, the report stated. 
Under pressure from the US and international institutions to crack down on terrorist financing, Pakistan last month drew up secret plans for a “takeover” of charities linked to Islamist leader Saeed, who Washington blames for the 2008 attacks in Mumbai that killed 166 people.
The United States has labeled the charities Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and the Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) as “terrorist fronts” for Lashkar-e-Taiba (LET), or “Army of the Pure”, a group Saeed founded in 1987 and which Washington and India accuse of carrying out the Mumbai attacks.
Saeed has repeatedly denied involvement in the Mumbai attacks and says the charitable organizations he founded and controls have no ties with militants.
“Yes, the government will take over the charities which are sanctioned and not allowed to operate,” Abbasi told Reuters. (Tolonews)